New patterns available at Michelle Patterns

 

Just a super quick post to let you know that Michelle Patterns (formerly known as Keyka Lou Patterns) now carries three new patterns from LBG studio: the Two Zip Hipster, the Convertible clutch and the Leather Accent Fold Over clutch. You can find them all here.

There is also a 20% discount code, but hurry up because it expires tomorrow.

Happy weekend!

Burdastyle magazine 08/2012

I'm a bit late with the Burdastyle post this month, and that's because I wanted to have the magazine in my hands before I wrote something about it. I was so enthusiastic when I first saw the preview on Juliette's Facebook page, I needed to figure if I was right or not.
Turn out this is a truly great issue of Burda and if you're an occasional buyer, I strongly recommend getting it. There is a good variety of garments and styles, and almost all of them seem very wearable and quite flattering.

Of course the dresses are my favorite, but that's not big news. The post is a bit pic-heavy, but I had a hard time editing down what to show.

*gasps* Perfect. Want to make it stat.

Are those sleeve darts? I think it's the first time I see them in a Burda dress pattern!
Anyway, what a cute dress. I'm not even annoyed by the asymmetrical hem.

I have a soft spot for these complicated patterns. This one looks particularly flattering and I love the sleeves. OF COURSE they had to make it in black.

I'm not a big fan of the triangular panels of the skirts (I checked and they're not pockets, not even at the front), but the rest is really lovely.
Also, I didn't mention it before, but the styling and the fabric choices (in general) are gorgeous in this issue. I wish they nailed every issue like this one.

I'm so happy that they're catching up with trends: detachable collars and peplums. Great job, Burda editors, keep it up! Also, I desperately want that lace collar.

A lovely jacket with a peter pan-ish collar and rounded bottom edges, with a sweet retro feel. I would do without the weirdly shaped panels, but I guess they're supposed to give shape, instead of darts.

Capes are so cute yet so impractical... But they're so cute! I'd love to make one for this fall.

Finally, a little peek at the kids section... Please tell me I'm not the only one who desperately wants to dress like these two little girls at the age of 25! I should add that the girl in the suspender skirt is wearing argyle knee-high socks... I DIE.

Planning

I don't know about you, but I almost always sew on a whim, without much planning. I usually don't like to feel "bound" to do something, because I start to feel under pressure and start procrastinating more than usual. But by doing this, I waste a lot of time because I often end up having the actual time to cut or to sew, but finding myself without a schedule, I just abandon myself to laziness and find something else to do.

So, I decided to try something new and make a little plan of the next few things I want to sew.

I hope I can stick to it. If I don't, at least I had a lot of fun with the technical drawings.

First off, the next entry for the Sew Colette 2.0. sewalong. We're tackling the Macaron pattern (my favorite ever, btw). I want to do something different from my first two versions of this dress, something dark and more on the dressy side. So I'm going to use this cotton with a geometric-y ethnic-y print as main fabric paired with black georgette for the upper part. I'm also adding a peter pan collar because I've been obsessing with this idea since seeing this.

This is already on my cutting table, but I'm having troubles with the fit. It's the Sonja dress by Salme patterns (available as a free download!) and I've already made two ill-fitting muslins, but I think I might be almost there.

Next, a Pendrell blouse with a peter pan collar. The print will channel my inner cougar, but I'm confident I can pull it off.

I couldn't make a clear decision for this silk georgette... a Pendrell blouse or a Grainline Tiny Pocket tank with buttons down the front? I guess I'll see how it goes with my previous Pendrell and go from there.

Finally, a bit of a question mark. I have some doubts about making another Hazel dress with criss-crossed straps with this fabric because a. the stripes are quite small and will be hell to match and b. I don't know if I can pull off a pink dress. But it's what I envisioned as soon as I saw this fabric. We'll see.

La Mia Boutique 08/2012

Hello, there!

I'm back after a short absence with the new issue of our beloved magazine. It's packed with beautiful mini dresses, which I wouldn't wear because I'm too paranoid about my thighs, but can still appreciate.

I immediately fell in love with this dress; those gorgeous pleats at the neckline create a nice volume in the rest of the dress. As I said, I don't feel comfortable wearing very short dresses (without tights) and I feel that making this longer would ruin the proportions and might make it look like I'm wearing a sack. I might try to turn this into a top, though... Maybe I'll eventually attempt a muslin.

Second crush of the month... I don't usually like asymmetrical dresses that much, but I love the pleated details of this one. The way they styled it, it looks very edgy, imho. Should I try to emulate it and wear it with leggings? My skin cringes at the very thought...

Again, beautiful pleats and asymmetry. I guess that's what inspired the designers this month and I couldn't be happier. I hate the beige fabric they used, but I think it would look stunning in jewel tones.

I guess if I wrote anything more about pleats or how I feel about my legs, someone would throw something at the computer screen, so I'll just point out that this model looks like she forgot her pants. Talk about MINI-dress! Granted, it's a look I see everyday in the streets, but that's no reason to promote it, dear LMB editors.

You might know I love me a front knot. This pattern could be an easy alternative to the Burda one, but... do I spy a hint of high-lo hem? NO THANKS.

Finally, a cute jacket. I don't need to comment on the peter pan collar, but I also really like the sleeve gathering in the cuffs. The bows on the pocket might be a bit too much even for me.

If you're brave enough to sew for your partner or for men in your life, there are also some men patterns in this issue.
To check them out, and to see the rest of the technical drawings, you can head out as usual to my Flickr set.

Sew Colette 2.0.: Thai Hazel

Soo... here's my first entry for the Sew Colette 2.0. Sewalong!
My Hazel dress was made in a very special fabric. It was given to me by my boyfriend's father, who used to work for an oil company and travelled the world during the 70's and the 80's. He recently opened some storage boxes full of treasures from his travels and he was kind enough to give me some beautiful pieces of fabric he bought in Thailand over 30 years ago as a present. (Yes, pieceS plural, I have more of these gorgeous prints!)
EDIT: The fabric is actually from either Vietnam or Indonesia... Oops! (FAIL)

I was quite intimidated by this fabric, as I always am when fabrics are expensive or have sentimental value attached to them. What if I was going to mess up something that came from the other side of the world and was older than me???

Anyway, this fabric was too beautiful to stay hidden in my stash. The Hazel dress was the first pattern I associated with this fabric, I have no idea why, but once an idea gets stuck in my mind, it rarely goes away.

I'm very satisfied with the result, it's an easy, colourful dress, perfect for summer.
The "V" detail at the bust is not too noticeable, but I'm fine with that, the print is too busy to notice any detail anyway. Since the fabric had a beautiful border print, I used it for the hem.
The only modification I did was my usual lapped zipper (at this point I could avoid writing it, since I ALWAYS do it).

The "Anna Molly" dress

The theme of this week at the Sew Weekly was Red, White and Blue, which (patriotism aside, since I'm not American) are probably my favorite colours to wear.
When my original plan didn't work out, I decided to turn to the Lily dress pattern, that had been sitting in my stash for a while waiting to be tried.
I don't remember if I bought this blue IKEA cotton before or after seeing the release of the pattern, but it turned out to be perfect; I love this colour combo! Also, IKEA fabrics rock: I was surprised by the quality of this cotton and it was very inexpensive.

As usual, my favorite thing about Colette patterns is that I get a very good fit with very small adjustments. This time I cut a size 4 bodice, grading up to a size 10 in the hips. In the end, I only had to take in a few cm from the back zipper at waist level (I do have a tiny waist compared to my very large hips) and to take the skirt side seams slightly in above the hips.
I started late in the morning and in a few hours I had a dress I really love and feel great in.
You can read more about it and why I named it like this in my post.